FlyHoopty.com Launches, Promises "Fly" Used Cars for Under 15K

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December 2, 2008

Lack of availability to credit and a shrinking economy quashed your new car hopes? You can still get some wheels if you don’t mind going used (“pre-owned,” as they say these days). And Peter Greenberg wants to get you in a fresh, fly set of wheels for $15,000 or less with his new Web site launched yesterday: www.flyhoopty.com.

Entrepreneur and auto sales veteran Greenberg claims he “saw an opening in the marketplace for a comprehensive national site on which visitors can find what they're looking for in lesser-priced vehicles.” He calls his site easy, quick, convenient, secure, and ultra-affordable.

The name, FlyHoopty.com, is a hybrid of “fly,” (cool or stylish) and “hoopty,” a rather tongue-in-cheek reference from modern urban vernacular referring to a vehicle in various states of disrepair, usually including aesthetic embellishments meant to distract one from its structural or mechanical demerits. Says UrbanDictionary.com: “a hoopty can be anything from a '78 Cadillac Brougham with the panels missing in front of the brake lights (but replaced on only one side with duct tape), to a fine purple two-year old Hyundai Elantra with three spinner hubcaps and a vanity plate that reads BBY GRL.”

Whether or not the ghetto-chic marketing move will work for Greenberg is to be seen, but low prices will likely resonate with many of today’s cash-strapped buyers. A visit to the site’s newest arrivals (“Fresh FlyHooptys”) reveals an appealing, playful interface that’s easy to use and full of custom artwork that’s well done yet doesn’t take itself too seriously. Mostly clean, late-model sedans dominate the site, far from the true definition of a hoopty. Nonetheless, a couple of dropped Dodge Neons, Kustom Chevrolet Astro vans with fiberglass tops, and tricked-out Honda Civic coupes lend credence to the site’s name and give it a dose of flava.--Colin Mathews
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